User interface for simultaneous management of owned and unowned inventory

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a user configurable computer interface for managing inventory. The interface provides a list, generated according to a user-defined organization. The list includes both owned and un-owned items and provides a means for sampling and purchasing the un-owned items directly from the list. The present invention contemplates a user interface for managing an entertainment play lists such as music play lists, video play lists etc. In addition the present invention contemplates management of vehicle maintenance and goods such as groceries, toys, or books.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/696,379 filed on Oct. 29, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,173,177, entitled“USER INTERFACE FOR SIMULTANEOUS MANAGEMENT OF OWNED AND UNOWNEDINVENTORY”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/473,901, filed Dec. 28, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,693,236, issuedFeb. 17, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to management of inventory. Moreparticularly the present invention relates to maintaining an inventoryof items through use of a user interface incorporating a user customizedorganization wherein both owned and un-owned items can be processedsimultaneously and wherein un-owned items can be purchased directly fromthe user interface.

With reference to FIG. 1, the traditional processes of maintaining asupply of goods or services, and purchasing those goods or servicesinvolves several discrete steps. While most people do not consciouslythink about it, the process of shopping for goods involves a complexprocedure which is understood more clearly with reference to FIG. 1.First, in a step 102, a shopper must determine certain goods are neededand then, in a step 104, must either remember that the goods are needed,or must add them to a list of such needed items. In a step 106 theshopper must determine whether either of two conditions are met. First,are there sufficient articles in the list to justify traveling to astore, and second is there at least one item in the list which is neededwith sufficient urgency to justify a trip to the store regardless of thesize of the list. If the answer to either of these questions is no thenthe shopper returns to the step 102 of determining that further itemsare needed and adding them to the list. However, if the answer to eitherof these questions is yes, then the shopper, in a step 108, determines afirst item to search for and a first store in which that item is mostlikely to be found.

Once at the first store, in a step 110 the shopper searches for thefirst item. As any shopper will appreciate, in a traditional shoppingexperience, the process of searching a store for a particular item isdictated by the vendor's organization of goods. For example, while theshopper may have compiled a shopping a list in which all of the itemsnecessary to make a spaghetti dinner may be grouped together, the storemay have items arranged in any number of organizations. The sauce may bein one isle with canned vegetables, while spaghetti noodles are inanother isle, and red wine in yet another. Finding the Parmesan cheeseis always a problem. To further exacerbate the problem one store oftenorganizes its stock differently from another store.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, in a step 112, once the item isfound it is placed in a cart. Then in a step 114 the shopper directs hisor her attention to the next sequential item on the list. At this point,in a step 116, the shopper must check the list to determine whether allof the items have been obtained. If the answer is yes then, in a step118, the shopper proceeds to the check out counter and purchases theitem or items in the cart. If the answer to the step 116 is no, then theuser proceeds to step 120 to determine whether the remaining article orarticles can be purchased at that store. If it can, the shopper returnsto the step 110 to search for that item. If the item cannot be foundthere, then in a step 122, the shopper proceeds to the checkout stand topurchase any items accumulated in the shopping cart. Then in a step 124,the shopper travels to the next store to resume the search step 110.This process continues until all of the items on the list have beenobtained.

It will be appreciated that the traditional method of shopping issomewhat cumbersome and time consuming. The process becomes still moredifficult if the shopper has a small child to attend to or has aphysical impairment which makes travel to and movement within the storesdifficult.

With the advent of the Internet and on-line shopping, the process hasbeen made somewhat easier. However, the Internet shopping hasessentially maintained the traditional shopping model, with the onlyreal difference being that the shopper does not have to physicallytravel from one store to another. The online shopper still must compilea list of goods needed and then in a separate step, must go to variousInternet sites to shop for those goods. Once at the site the shoppermust search for the goods which are organized according to the vendor'schosen organization, which can vary from vendor to vendor. The on-lineshopper fills a virtual shopping cart with goods and, when the itemsremaining on the shopper's list are not available at that Internet site,the shopper must proceed to another site to finish the list.

Another system which has been developed in an attempt to streamline theshopping experience is the use of bridal registries. Such a registrycontains a list of items which a couple desires to own. As friends andfamily purchase items on the list, the list is constantly updated toindicate which items have been purchased and which items remain to bepurchased. However, such a system suffers the drawback that it is onlyuseful for one store and the buyer must go to the store to access thesystem. In addition, the once an item has been selected from the list,the buyer must purchase the item as a separate, discrete activity. Thispurchase is generally performed as according to the conventionalshopping experience in which the shopper must find the item in thestore, using the stores inventory organization, and then must make thepurchase in a conventional manner at check out stand or the like.

From the forgoing it is apparent that there remains a need for a newshopping paradigm. Such a shopping paradigm would preferably include asystem which would take full advantage of the vast power of computersand of the Internet to eliminate many of the steps required to maintainan inventory of goods or services. Such a system would also preferablyprovide a tool allowing the shopper to organize goods in a manner mostuseful to the shopper, would identify for the user which items need tobe purchased and would allow the user to purchase each item individuallydirectly from the user customized organizational tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system method and apparatus forallowing a computer user to maintain an inventory of goods or servicesin an organization which is customized to the user's individual needs.The organized items include both those items owned by the user and thosewhich need to be purchased, and the user is provided with an indicationof which items fall into which category, allowing the user to easilydetermine which items remain to be purchased. Purchase can be madedirectly by selecting the needed item without requiring the user tocompile a list of items and without visiting different vendors topurchase all needed items.

More particularly, the invention includes a user interface whichdisplays a plurality of category icons each of which represents a userdefined grouping of items. These items and groupings are organized inany manner designed by the user. Selecting one of the category iconscauses the items within that group to be displayed with an associatedstatus icon. The status icon associated with each item indicates to theuser whether the item is currently owned by and available to the user,whether it needs to be purchased, or whether it has been purchased buthas not yet been received.

Selecting an item having a status icon indicating that it needs to bepurchased will cause a window to be displayed which includes adescription of at least one such item available for purchase along witha mechanism for purchasing the item. The item window can includeinformation such as price, availability, size, graphics, etc. Thepurchase mechanism can be in the form of a button which the user canselect to initiate an on-line purchase. The selection of vendors can bepreprogrammed, determined in real time, or can be by default, however,the system automatically determines which stores supply the item andprovides a link to only those stores.

One embodiment of the invention provides a mechanism for managing amusic portfolio. The system can be directly connected with the user'sstereo system and includes user defined play lists. The play lists canbe organized in any manner chosen by the user for example genre, artist,instrument, etc. A selection of lists identified by list icons isdisplayed from which the user can select a desired list. Selecting adesired list causes the musical titles within that list to be displayed.Each title includes a status icon which indicates whether the title iscurrently owned or needs to be purchased. By selecting an item to bepurchased, the user accesses a window containing information regardingthe title and a button for initiating a purchase of the musical title.The purchase can be, for example, in the form of downloaded MP3 music orcan be on compact disc delivered via a conventional carrier. The listsare transferable so that a user can receive from a friend a list of, forexample, party music. When the list is displayed in the user interface,it will indicate which of the items are already owned by the user andwhich have yet to be purchased.

In another embodiment of the invention, the user interface can be usedto maintain a stock of groceries. Again the groceries can be organizedin any manner chosen by the user. The groceries are displayed in usercustomized lists with an indication of which items remain to bepurchased. Selecting an item to be purchased opens an item descriptionwindow and provides for a direct on-line purchase.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the user interface allows auser to easily manage vehicle maintenance. Each vehicle owned by theuser is provided with its own icon, selection of which will provide theuser with information regarding the maintenance schedule of thatvehicle. The system keeps track of maintenance already performed andalerts the user when maintenance is due. The system also provides theuser with a selection of service stations from which such service can beprovided and also provides the user with links to the service station toschedule such maintenance.

These and other advantages of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions ofthe invention and a study of the several figures of the drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a process flow chart illustrating a shopping method of thebackground art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a computer system useful with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a process flow chart illustrating a shopping method of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 displays a user interface according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 displays a user interface according to an alternate embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 displays a user interface according to an alternate embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an electronic checklist for use with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 displays a user interface according to yet another embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus formanaging, organizing and purchasing items using a personalized userinterface on a computer system. The user interface includes one or morecustomized lists, capable of displaying a selection of items of mixedownership. More particularly, the list provides an indication of whetheror not the item is already owned by the user and the user interfaceprovides a mechanism for purchasing those items that are not.

With reference to FIG. 2, the present invention includes asoftware-based set of computer executable instructions for use with acomputer system 210. The computer system 210 is preferably connected forcommunication with a computer network 212 including a plurality ofremote agents 214. The computer network can be for example a local areanetwork (LAN) or can be Internet based.

With continued reference to FIG. 2 the computer system preferablyincludes a computer 216 including a central processing unit, randomaccess memory (RAM) (not shown), read only memory (ROM) (not shown) andone or more drives 218 which can be in the form of a magnetic floppydisk drive, laser disk etc. The computer system 10 also includes a videomonitor 220 for visually displaying data to the user, a keyboard 222 formanually entering data, and a computer mouse or trackball 224 formanipulating data in coordination with the visual display provided bythe monitor 220. A set of speakers 226 can also be provided andconnected with the computer 216.

The software based computer executable instructions can be loaded intothe computer 216 through the drive 218 or can be accessed through thenetwork 212 from one or more of the remote agents 214. Once loaded thesoftware instructions can be stored in the RAM, ROM, on a magnetic orlaser disk accessed by the drive 216 or can be maintained on one of theagents 214. While the invention has been described in terms of use apersonal computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that thepresent invention can be used in connection with other similarelectronic equipment such as a hand held device, a laptop computer, etc.

With reference to FIG. 3, an improved shopping method 302 will bedescribed. The process 302 begins with a step 304 in which the useropens the software. Upon activation, the software will provide the userwith at least one user defined list of items. The list includes andindication to the user of which items are already owned and which needto be purchased. Therefore, after activating the software, in a step306, the user will readily notice which items, if any, need to bepurchased. In a step 308, the user selects an item to be purchased. In astep 310, the software automatically searches for on-line vendors fromamong the agents 14 (FIG. 2) which can provided the item, preferablyfocusing on certain user preferred vendors 312. Then, in a step 314, theuser purchases the item. In a step 316, the user checks the software todetermine whether additional items remain to be purchased. If so thenthe user returns to step 308, if not then the user is done.

With reference to FIG. 4, an embodiment of the invention includes a userinterface 402 which can be displayed on the computer monitor 220(FIG. 1) and can be considered to include three basic window regions. Inthe first region 404, a selection of lists is displayed. The nature ofthe lists is indicated by a heading 406, which can be an expressiongenerated by the user or can be a default heading.

Each list is represented in the first window region 404 by a list icon408, and the heading 406 corresponds to the category of lists displayed.The organization and categorization of lists can be tailored by the userto fit with his or her mindset and experiences. For example if the userhad just returned from an extended vacation in which several countrieshad been visited, the user might generate a heading entitled “Worldtour”. Under this heading there could be a set of lists 408, in the formof play lists or libraries, each containing music reminding him or herof specific locations visited. In such a case, the lists falling underthe heading “World Tour” might have names such as “British Isles”,“Polka”, “Greece”, etc. The user interface 402 is very flexible so thatthe organization need not be consistent and need not make sense toanyone other than the user. For instance, in the example above the listsseem inconsistent because “British Isles” and “Greece” are locationswhile “Polka” is a style of music. While this organization might seeminconsistent to most people it might make sense to the user.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, the user can select one of the lists408, in which case a selection of items 410 contained in that list willbe displayed in a second window region 412. Selection of list can bemade using a pointer icon 414 controlled by the mouse 224 (FIG. 2) orcan be by another method such as scrolling through the list icons usingthe keyboard 222 (FIG. 2) or a remote control (not shown). When aparticular list 408 is selected in region 412, the name of the listappears at the top of the second window region as a list heading 416. Aselection of items 410 in the form of musical titles making up theselected list 408 will appear below the list heading 416.

With reference still to FIG. 4, a title status icon 418 appears next toeach listed title 410 displayed in the second region 18. These icons 42indicate the status of the item in the list. For example a check mark,might appear next to an item to indicate that the item is already in thepossession of the user. Another icon, for example a dollar sign, mightappear next to items which have not yet been purchased. Another possibleicon, for example mail package symbol, might appear next to an itemwhich has been purchased but not yet received.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, selecting one of the title icons 410will initiate various activities depending upon the status of the item.For example, if a title has not yet been purchased, selecting that titlewill cause information regarding that title, such as artist, recordlabel, and album cover graphics, etc., to be displayed in a titledescription window 420. A “sample” icon 422 will be displayed which willinitiate a sample play of the music, and a “buy” icon 424 will also bedisplayed, selection of which will initiate a purchase of the title.

If the title 410 selected is already owned and possessed by the user,selection of the title 410 will initiate play of the title. On the otherhand if the status of the title is that it has been purchased but notyet received, then selection of the title will initiate a deliveryinformation window (not shown) which might include data such as carrier,estimated time of arrival, whether it will be delivered C.O.D., etc.

The present embodiment can be used with music which can be downloadeddirectly from a network such as the Internet using MP3 or similartechnology. In such an application, a status of condition of “purchasedbut not received” would have limited applicability. Alternatively, thepresent embodiment can be used with music recorded on compact discs orthe like which must be purchased and delivered. In such a situation, the“purchased but not received” status condition is useful in indicatingthat while the title can not be played no purchase is necessary. Itshould be noted that the present embodiment contemplates that the term“title” applies to either a single song or an entire album as determinedby user preference.

The present embodiment is an integral part of the user's homeentertainment system. Selecting the list heading 416 in the secondwindow region 412, will activate play of all of the titles 410 of thelist which are currently in the possession of the user. These titles 410can be played through the user's stereo system (not shown) or throughthe user's computer system 216 through speakers 226 (FIG. 2).

With reference to FIG. 5, to further illustrate the organizationalflexibility of the user interface, a particular list can have nested init other lists. For example, a list entitled “British Isle” mightinclude other nested lists 502 such as “Irish Celtic”, “ScottishCeltic”, “British Invasion” and “London Philharmonic”. Selecting theBritish Isles list icon 408 (FIG. 4), would cause the nested list icons502 to appear, selection of which would generate an array of titles 504falling within that nested list 502. The titles 504 would havecorresponding status icons 418 and purchase or play of the titles wouldbe provided for as previously described.

With reference again to FIG. 4, a list 408 can be transferred betweenthe user and one or more of the remote agents 214 (FIG. 2). For example,the user can request from and receive from a friend a list 408 of partysongs. The titles 410 on the list 408 will appear with an indication ofwhich titles are already owned and which need to be purchased.

Similarly, with reference to FIG. 5, the user can send one of hisembedded list titles 508 to a music dealer as an empty list with arequest to fill the lists with titles matching those categories. Themusic dealer can then fill the user's embedded list 502 with a list 504that matches the user's categorization. This dealer supplied list 504could include all inventory in that category or a filtered subsetthereof. From this list, the user can contract the list to show justthose items which are already owned by the user, only those which arenot owned or some user defined combination thereof. Therefore, uponreceiving the filled list from the music dealer, the user can, upon asimple inspection of the status icons 504, determine whether he or shealready owns each of the items suggested by the dealer. The user canthen select an un-owned title 504, listen to a sample of the music, and,if desired, purchase the title 504.

With reference to FIG. 4, the transferability of the lists 408 can alsobe useful in other ways. For example, if a user's friend has compiled alist of music he likes to listen to while driving he or she can transferthat list to the user. Upon a quick inspection of the status icons 418,the user can determine whether any of the items are already owned andwhich remain to be purchased.

From the above, those skilled in the art will recognize that the presentinvention can be used to manage inventory of virtually any type of goodsor services. With reference now to FIG. 6, another exemplary embodimentof the invention is disclosed. The present embodiment includes acustomized user interface 602 useful for managing grocery inventory in ahome. The user interface can be organized in any manner which is usefulto the particular user. For example if a user tends to mentally groupitems such as pasta, sauce, bread, and cheese, a list can be created togroup these items together. Alternatively, the user might want to groupitems based on where in the house they are stored. Again, lists can bedeveloped to categorize items in this way.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, the user interface 602 generates adisplay of user defined categories 604. A heading 606 identifies theuser interface 602 as pertaining to groceries generally. Selecting oneof the categories causes that category name to be displayed as a listheading 608 having displayed there below a list of items 610 within thatcategory. As with the previously described embodiment each displayeditem 610 has associated with it a status icon 612 which identifies thestatus of the item 610. For example, an item which is owned isidentified by a first icon 612(a), while an item which needs to bepurchased is identified by a second icon 612(b). Furthermore, a thirdicon 612(c) might represent the item as having been purchased but notyet received.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, by selecting from the list an item610 which needs to be purchased, information regarding that item willappear in one or more item description windows 614 within the userinterface 602. For example, if an item 610 entitled “mozzarella”, whichneeds to be purchased, is selected, a window 614 corresponding to aparticular brand of mozzarella will be displayed along with price andother information. A visual display might also be displayed such asmight be found on packaging of a product, or perhaps a picture of theproduct. More than one such window 614 can be displayed in order to givethe user a selection from which to choose when making a purchase. Thewindow 614 preferably includes a “buy” button 616, selection of whichwill initiate an on-line purchase of the item. The vendor used forpurchase of the item can be one of several on-line grocery store chainswhich can, in some cases, deliver goods free of charge to the user'shome. The choice of such on-line grocery store chains can bepreprogrammed by the user or can be set by default to an address of areputable on-line grocer.

In order to maintain a current inventory, as a user uses the last of aparticular item, or notices that the item is getting to a low level, heor she can select the status icon 612 for that item 610 causing it tochange sequentially among the two or three available states. Forexample, if the user uses the last of the available coffee, he or shecan select the status icon 612(b). The status icon will change from an“owned” state 612(a) to a “buy” state 612(b). Later, when the item ispurchased, the status icon 612(b) will automatically change to the“purchased but not received” state 612(c), until such time as theproduct is received. When the product is received, the status icon612(c) will change to the “owned” state, either by the user selectingthe icon 612 or by a remote action of the grocery vendor. While thepresent invention has been described in terms of being used with anon-line grocery vendor, those skilled in the art will recognize that thepresent invention can also be used to maintain an inventory of groceriessupplied by a traditional grocery vendor, not on-line. In addition, thepresent invention can be used to maintain an inventory of virtually anykind of items, such as for example toys or books.

The present invention contemplates that the status of each item mightnot be merely binary (i.e. owned or un-owned) but may be someintermediate state. For example, the item 410 (FIG. 4) of the previouslydescribed embodiment might be licensed for a limited time or might belicensed on a particular platform. Or, the user might have only a smallamount of an item 610 (FIG. 6), such as, for instance, ¼ cup of sauce.The present invention can be adapted to provide an indication of such anintermediate status.

It will be appreciated that the activity of purchasing each item can bedone directly from the user interface each time an item is used up. Thepurchases can be tallied in an account (not shown) which can be checkedat any time to determine the amount charged. By way of example, a usercan periodically select and purchase items as they are used up, andschedule a delivery for a predetermined time. The delivery will theninclude all items purchased up to that point. This avoids the difficultyand embarrassment, sometimes experienced with traditional groceryshopping wherein a grocery cart is filled and brought to a checkoutstand only to find that the amount exceeds that which the buyer iswilling or able to pay. The present invention allows purchases to bemade incrementally and directly without the use of a physical orelectronic grocery cart.

With reference to FIG. 7, a portable electronic checklist can be used tomaintain the inventory of groceries in the user interface 602 (FIG. 6).The portable user interface can be hung on a pantry door or incorporatedinto a refrigerator door so as to be easily accessible when supply of anitem is found to be low. The electronic checklist 702 includes acategory heading 704 which corresponds to the headings 608 of the userinterface 602 (FIG. 6). When the user touches the heading 704, itchanges from one heading to another in series until a desired heading isfound. Each heading display generates a corresponding list of items 706there below corresponding to the items 610 in the user interface. Whensupply of an item is found to be low or the item is used up alltogether, the user simply touches that item in the screen. The screen islinked with the user's computer system 210 (FIG. 2), or directly to avendor supply database, so that the user interface 702 will be updatedto indicate that the item needs to be purchased. The link can be aremote link or can simply be through the manual transfer of a computerreadable medium, such as a floppy disk, between the electronic checklist702 and the computer system 210. The checklist 702 may also includestatus icons 708 indicating the ownership status reflected in the userinterface 602.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, inventory can be keptautomatically. Various sensors in a pantry and/or refrigerator (notshown) can sense when an item needs to be replaced. This sensedcondition is then delivered to the computer system 210 (FIG. 2) wherebythe interface 602 (FIG. 6) is automatically updated to reflect thechanged ownership status of the item.

With reference again to FIG. 6, the list categorizations aretransferable from one remote user to another. For example, the user mayhave a friend who has a recipe that the user wants to try. The friendcan email the recipe to the user as a grocery category 606 with all ofthe ingredients being listed as items 610. The user can easily enterthis recipe into the user interface 602 so that by selecting the recipeas a desired category, the name of the recipe will appear as the listheading with the various ingredients appearing there below as items 610.The interface will automatically determine the ownership status of eachitem/ingredient 610 which will be reflected in the status icons 612.

With reference now to FIG. 8, a user interface 802 for managing vehiclemaintenance is disclosed. The user interface includes a heading 804which identifies the user interface as pertaining to vehiclemaintenance. Below the heading 804 is a list of vehicles 806 owned bythe user. Selecting a vehicle 806 will cause that vehicle to appear as avehicle heading 808, below which will be displayed various maintenanceprocedures 810 which are part of that vehicle's maintenance routine. Byselecting one of the procedures 810, information regarding thatprocedure, such as when that procedure was last performed and when it isdue, will be displayed in a window 812. If a certain maintenanceprocedure needs to be performed on the vehicle, an icon 814 indicatingas much will appear beside that procedure.

With continued reference to FIG. 8, when a certain procedure isselected, a description of one or more local service stations willappear in a window 816. The service station window includes informationregarding that service station and can include a button to obtainschedule information and a link to the station to schedule anappointment.

The computer 210 (FIG. 2) can be electronically linked with the vehicleso that the vehicle mileage can be monitored. When the vehicle mileagereaches a point where a particular maintenance procedure is required,the icon 814 will appear. In addition, the interface 802 can beprogrammed to alert the user by sending an email or by displaying amessage to the user external from the user interface 804 to let the userknow that a maintenance procedure should be performed. It will beappreciated that the present embodiment will be useful, not only toprivate individuals but also to businesses which operate a fleet ofvehicles.

In summary the present invention provides a system for greatlysimplifying a user's life by including a single interface from which auser can easily identify both items or services which are currentlyowned and those that need to be purchased, and from which he or she canmake those required purchases. The system conforms to the user'slifestyle providing seamless, inventory maintenance and purchasingwithout the need for an electronic or actual shopping cart.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications may be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified withinthe scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

1. A computer implemented method comprising: storing a list of inventoryitems; generating a user interface; displaying the list of inventoryitems on the user interface; determining whether each item in the listof inventory items is owned or un-owned, and further determining whetherthere is an intermediate supply of at least some of the items; andproviding an indication on the user interface of whether particularitems are owned or un-owned, and an indication of the intermediatesupply of at least some of the items.
 2. The method as recited in claim1, further comprising providing a mechanism to allow a user to initiatea purchase of at least one un-owned item in the inventory list.
 3. Themethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising providing a linkdisplayed on the user interface to an on-line vendor from which a usercan purchase at least one un-owned item in the inventory list.
 4. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the indication on the userinterface of whether each item is owned or un-owned comprises a statusicon.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining whethereach item in the list of inventory items is owned or un-owned includesreceiving a signal from an automatic sensor configured to sense when anitem in the list of inventory items needs to be replaced.
 6. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein the list of inventory items is receivedvia the internet.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising providing a link displayed on the user interface to anon-line vendor from which a user can purchase at least one un-owned itemin the inventory list, and wherein the indication on the user interfaceof whether each item is owned or un-owned comprises a status icon. 8.The method as recited in claim 7, wherein determining whether each itemin the list of inventory items is owned or un-owned includes receiving asignal from an automatic sensor configured to sense when an item in thelist of inventory items needs to be replaced.
 9. A computer readablememory medium storing instructions executable by a computer to: store alist of inventory items; generate a user interface; display the list ofinventory items on the user interface; determine whether each item inthe list of inventory items is owned or un-owned, and further todetermine that there is an intermediate supply of at least some of theitems; and provide an indication on the user interface of whetherparticular items are owned or un-owned, and an indication of theintermediate supply of at least some of the items.
 10. The computerreadable memory medium as recited in claim 9, wherein the instructionsare further executable to: provide a mechanism to allow a user toinitiate a purchase of at least one un-owned item in the inventory list.11. The computer readable memory medium as recited in claim 9, whereinthe instructions are further executable to provide a link on the userinterface to an on-line vendor from which a user can purchase at leastone un-owned item in the inventory list.
 12. The computer readablememory medium as recited in claim 9 wherein the indication on the userinterface of whether each item is owned or un-owned comprises a statusicon.
 13. The computer readable memory medium as recited in claim 9,wherein the instructions are further executable to receive a signal froman automatic sensor configured to sense when an item in the list ofinventory items needs to be replaced.
 14. The computer readable memorymedium as recited in claim 9, wherein the list of inventory items isreceived via the internet.
 15. The computer readable memory medium asrecited in claim 9, wherein the instructions are further executable toprovide a link on the user interface to an on-line vendor from which auser can purchase at least one un-owned item in the inventory list, andwherein the indication on the user interface of whether each item isowned or un-owned comprises a status icon.
 16. The computer readablememory medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the instructions arefurther executable to receive a signal from an automatic sensorconfigured to sense when an item in the list of inventory items needs tobe replaced.
 17. A computer system comprising: a processor unit; amemory including program instructions executable by the processor unitto: store a list of inventory items; generate a user interface; displaythe list of inventory items on the user interface; determine whethereach item in the list of inventory items is owned or un-owned, andfurther to determine that there is an intermediate supply of at leastsome of the items; and provide an indication on the user interface ofwhether particular items are owned or un-owned, and an indication of theintermediate supply of at least some of the items; and an automaticsensor configured to sense when an item in the list of inventory itemsneeds to be replaced; wherein determining whether each item in the listof inventory items is owned or un-owned includes receiving a signal fromthe automatic sensor.
 18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein theinstructions are further executable to: provide a mechanism to allow auser to initiate a purchase of at least one un-owned item in theinventory list.
 19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein theinstructions are further executable to provide a link on the userinterface to an on-line vendor from which a user can purchase at leastone un-owned item in the inventory list.
 20. The system as recited inclaim 18, wherein the indication on the user interface of whether eachitem is owned or un-owned comprises a status icon.
 21. The system asrecited in claim 18, wherein the list of inventory items is received viathe internet.